Katin Houser throws in warmups before Illinois at Maryland

The final injury report came out Saturday morning and Houser was on it as a game-time decision, nothing firmer than that.

Joey Wagner

@mrwagner25

#illini QB Katin Houser is a game-time decision for today's 11 a.m. CT kickoff at Maryland. Houser missed the Oregon game following surgery on his throwing hand, which he injured in the third quarter of a win at Michigan State.

Here's how he got here. Houser broke a bone in his throwing hand in the 3rd quarter at Michigan State on Oct. 10, a 38-37 overtime win, and had surgery a few days later. The first timeline was 4-6 weeks, with a UCLA game on November 13 floated as a realistic return date. Getting back on the field at Maryland would mean coming back at the very front of that window.

Illinois hasn't fallen apart without him. True freshman Michael Clayton II came on in relief in East Lansing, then started against Oregon and went 11-of-18 for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Illini won 21-10. That's a game managed by the defense, not a passing game. Clayton keeps it clean, but the playbook gets a lot smaller with a freshman running it.

Houser was back at practice this week, and Bret Bielema was careful about it. He said Houser threw on Wednesday 'but not to the level of what it was,' and that he couldn't put a timeframe on it. Then the official report moved him to questionable on Friday, and to game-time decision on Saturday. Beat writers expected warmups to settle it.

Jeremy Werner

@JWerner247

Houser availability will likely be determined by warmups here over the next two hours.

Jeremy Werner

@JWerner247

QB Katin Houser is officially a game-time decision for #illini, per the final injury report. t.co/PYhKUVnsSy

The first look was encouraging. Houser walked onto the field at SECU Stadium and reporters noticed right away that nothing was wrapped or protecting the hand he had surgery on.

Joey Wagner

@mrwagner25

#illini QB Katin Houser is on the field with no protective wrap on his hand.

No wrap tells you something, but it doesn't tell you he's playing. Going without protection suggests he and the trainers trust the hand, or at least want to see what it can do without anything on it. He started out with short throws, which is what you'd expect from a guy testing his grip, not a guy who's been cleared to rip it downfield.

Jeremy Werner

@JWerner247

#illini QB Katin Houser begins to throw t.co/o1Jm9niXzZ

There's a lot riding on it. Illinois is 4-3 and 2-2 in the Big Ten and needs 2 more wins from its last 5 games to reach a bowl. A healthy Houser makes that much easier. A Houser who's 75% and can't put zip on the ball could be worse than a freshman with 2 working hands. Watch which QB takes the 1st-team reps once warmups get serious, and who's on the field for the first snap. That will answer it before Bielema says a word.